Telehealth’s time to shine – virtually connecting with your mental health professional

One of the interesting movements happening now on the mental health front is the rise of telehealth – providing services virtually.

We used to assume that psychological services had to be delivered in-person. At times of need only, exceptionally, and temporarily, maybe from a distance. This has now taken a whole new turn. Enter (finally!) telehealth.

To be fair, there is nothing new about telehealth. We are far from where research was 20 years ago, when I did my PhD in this area. At the time, it was considered pre-embryonic. Today, we know it can be very effective. Seeing a licensed mental health professional does not always require being in the same room. What’s remarkable is how slow we’ve been in adopting telehealth over the past 20 years – and how fast we’re making it happen now, in the past 2 weeks.

Get the virtual help you need

Most of us recognize the current time as a time for resilience. It’s time to use strategies you’ve used before and you know work for you – the healthy ones!

What you may not realize is that it’s also a great time to continue to focus on your resilience and mental health with the professionals you’ve been working with (or have been telling yourself you should).

Maintaining and increasing this focus will not only help you navigate our current situation, it will likely help you increase your baseline for the future. And that’s where connecting virtually with your mental health professional comes in.

Concretely, what does it mean? If you already have a psychologist or other mental health professional, consider connecting with them to book a virtual check-in. If you don’t already have a resource and feel you need help to cope with stress, this is a great time to explore your options. You may connect with your Employee and Family Assistance Program; or, after checking what is covered by your extended health benefits, have a look at state, provincial, or other directories (such as psychologytoday.com).

Many of us psychologists are used to telehealth. Even those who are not are quickly getting up to speed. Our Colleges and Associations are providing the support we need to ensure we’re compliant with the many regulations that keep all parts of this process effective, safe and confidential.

As we all look to protect our physical and mental health in this global time of pandemic-related stress, the telehealth alternative is one to keep in mind, now more than ever, and, quite possibly, for good.

 

Marie-Helene Pelletier, PhD, MBA, is a workplace mental health strategist, registered psychologist and professional speaker who teaches at the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business.